Place: Reviews & Ratings

While the selection is as good as any big box grocer, it's not necessarily a pleasant place to buy your beer. The liquor section in general is spirit and BMC-centric, and the clientele and employees reflect that. Still, if you're looking for something, anything, that's typical in this distro market, it'll more than likely be available here at a good price. (358 characters)

Woodman's is a huge mega-box store. Just the liquor section is pretty big. Atmosphere and service are commensurate with the big-box store experience. Prices are very reasonable. The selection of midwest regional beers is impressive, and the prices better than about any place else I've seen in the region. The specialty beers selection is modest, and mostly midwest, but not completely. There were definitely some not so easy to get brews, but that is not their schtick. They cover their bases with some of each style, and the standard bearers for foreign countries. But where they are really good is providing quality regional 6 packs at good prices. (651 characters)

Basically, this is a liquor warehouse. The guys stocking the shelves have no real idea what our beer geek's latest whalezzz are, or that there is a such thing. But this is a perfect place to go browse for beer, look stuff up on your phone, and either walk out with nothing or walk out with a cart full of beer. The selection is deep here, and I always appreciate the fact that prices are about $1 less than other places in Madison- but don't forget that Woodman's is cash-only. Highly recommend when you're going in for stuff you want to stock up on, e.g. you have had these beers already, like the New Glarus fruit beers or something like that. If you are hankering for something new, this isn't a bad place to go but I would still suggest going elsewhere. (757 characters)

The employees I have talked to at woodmans are not very helpful in selecting new beers, but if you have an iphone and patience to search through Beer Advocate to check out the interesting-looking beers, then you'll be just fine.

Woodmans has a very deep selection of quality beers and great prices. For example, you can get the large bottled Samuel Smith Imperial Stouts for $3 (while the $5 it costs at Rileys isnt much more expensive, and is still worth the cost, when you buy beer in bulk runs, the bill quickly adds up). I also like their large selection of single bottles that you can build your own sixer from. Their pick-6 selection is all very fresh (unlike other stores that just try to push their expiring beer), though surprisingly expensive ($11+tax) given the rest of the prices and the beer brands you can choose from (Sierra Nevada, Great Lakes, New Holland).

Overall, Woodmans has a lot a great beer selection attached to its grocery store and good prices to boot. It's hard to get good recommendations there, but an iphone solves that issue. (1,060 characters)

It was recommended by local site user hu5on that I stop in this place during my annual visit. I applaud his sensibilities, but not his overall judgment.

As I entered, I was told that the beer/wine/liquor was in the far northwest corner of the building. So be it and thus began my trek past all of that pesky food to get to what really mattered. Once through the sliding glass doors that made doubly sure that I did not just aimlessly wander into the storehouse of demon alcohol, beer created a horseshoe-like design to reign in their wine and liquor. I bought some beers, but most of their singles were bottles. The place was well-maintained, the beers were protected by heavy rubber drapes and the temperatures were right, plus the prices were visibly marked. My complaint was the lack of availability of single CANs. I simply did not want a whole case of O'Doul's Amber in a CAN nor did I want the majority of their ginormous selection. Traders who frequent this place should CANsult my Wants for potential trades. (1,061 characters)

Was in the souhtern madison area and decided to stop out to this store to see what beers I having been missing out on in the madison area. This is my first time shopping for beer in Madison, Wisconsin.

Woodmans always has been a good price for beer and i was thinking that the selection should be great since Wisconsin is such a great beer state. Was i right, this place has an amazing selection of craft beer from every corner of the USA. Oskar blues and Boulevard were 2 breweries that really surprised me at this store. I will be stopping here again. I easily could have bought 2 large boxes full of beer in this store. (623 characters)

This place is like a Costco for beer. It's a liquor store, essentially, connected to a big grocery store. This is the Woodman's on the west side by the Beltline. The Woodman's on Milwaukee Street on the east side by the capital area is almost as impressive.

I don't know if I have ever been so shocked upon entering a liquor store. The beer section is enormous. They have a shockingly diverse selection. They get stuff from all over the country. They have just about every major brewery in Wisconsin represented.

I spent $60 or so and didn't even make a dent.

I would be a major-league alcoholic if I lived in Madison. (622 characters)

I did not know what to expect when I got off the 151 to head towards Woodmans Grocery store. Many people had recommended I stop there to pick up some beers on my way through Madison, so I took their advice. I was shocked at the sheer size of Woodmans. Cash only, please take note. They are nice enough to have a "no-fee" ATM on premise, so it's all good!

The left side of the liquor/beer/wine department is lined with an open curtain faced cooler filled with 6 packs of assorted treats. The first one as I turned the corner, DFH Burton Baton! Big props for that. That is Emily's favorite beer, and we both were ecstatic. The selection is good. They don't have ALOT of rare, or off the wall stuff, but plenty of local Wisconsin beers, as well as a decent selection of bombers from FFF, New Glarus, Avery, etc. We ended up getting some FFF Broodoo, Dreadnaught, and Gumballhead from Woodman's, along with the Burton Baton. (The Burton Baton went quick, as we bought the two four packs on Thursday, returned Sunday for more and they were all gone).

Overall, I will stop there again on my way through. It's impressive how much less beer they had on Sunday night when we stopped compared to Thursday after noon. The weekend really cleaned them out, and are happy we stopped when we did. (1,284 characters)

This is probably the best place for value in the whole city. Singles selection is limited, and staff generally doesn't know much about beer. Selection in general is very broad, and as far as quality they do get some of the higher end releases, but they don't last long. If you want to load up on a broad variation of Great Lakes brews and don't mind missing a few rare releases, then this is your place. For 90% of my beer purchases, this is my go to place. In my opinion this location has the best selection of beer in the whole chain. (536 characters)

I can never seem to make a quick stop to Woodman's liquor store, I always end up spending way more time than anticipated browsing all the selections. Don't expect to discuss the latest craft beer releases with any of the employees here, none seem to be very passionate about beer but they are usually friendly. The selection is fantastic though and the prices are the best in Madison. I also really appreciate their make-your-own-six-pack special that has encouraged me to try some beers I might not have otherwise.

I feel like a kid in a candy store when I walk into this place. There must be 40+ feet of refrigerated micro 6-packs and bombers, 24+ of imported bombers (and other single bottles) and packs, and another 16 or so of feet of micro 12 packs. They also consistently have the lowest prices in Madison.

I won't lie - I prefer giving Steve's, Star, Barrique's, Jenifer St., Riley's, etc. my business, as they often have specific things which Woodman's doesn't, and, especially in the case of the former two, have friendly and knowledgeable staffs who I enjoy conversing with. That being said, when I'm on the west side (or east, although their Woodman's is not quite as large), it's hard not to stop here. Very large spirits and wine selection, as well. (748 characters)

The west side Woodman's is always a good spot to stop at for a few bottles of beer. Although the place is usually crazy busy for groceries, their liquor department is pretty calm every time I visit.

They have a nice selection of bottles from various Wisconsin breweries, Midwest breweries and the rest of the country. Their prices are also pretty reasonable. I think this is the cheapest place for picking up a bottle of New Glaurus Belgian Red or Raspberry Tart. They also have a good selection of some of the well known Belgian beers.

If Woodman's was just a tad closer I'd be there every week. (598 characters)

I love this store. The beer selection is huge; two full isles of refrigerated craft beer. Domestic on one side, imports on the other. Humorously, BMC beers are segregated from the micros and are located in a different section of the store.

Woodman's offers a large number of brews from breweries not available in IL (Stone, Wyerbacher) and there are a number of offerings from smaller Wisconsin breweries as well. Plus they have a large selection of single bottles, which are offered at a slight discount if you are to purchase a "mix a six." Special releases can be hit or miss. I've seen some choice offerings on some visits, but it is by no means consistent.

Prices are reasonable, especially considering the wide selection and the fact most of it is refrigerated. There are quantity discounts available as well.

Great location. Just one stop light off of the highway, makes it for a quick and easy beer run when passing through Madison.

Only a couple of criticisms. One would be the service, or rather the lack of service, as the only people I ever see working there are the ones working the cash registers. And, as to be expected, they don't know shit about beer. However, if you know what you're looking for, this really isn't a problem. Admittedly, its not helpful, but its not much of a problem either. Other issue would be the occasional out-of-date beer. On a recent visit, they were still selling beer from Harbor City, a brewery that has been closed for some time now. (1,488 characters)

I came in here, it was only like 100 meters from where I was staying, to see what it was all about. The selection was enormous, I mean enormous. There were a couple of aisles of craft beers, and singles of certain beers were even available - not quite as many as I could find in other places, and there was plenty of beer that wasn't the sort of rare releases you really scour the stores for. This was kind of exiting. There didn't seem to be any help, especially not any knowledgeable employees. This was just too big to have any. There were only two working when I came in, and those two were either at the register or at the front where the liquor was located. The beer was mostly craft, and I mean most anything from Wisconsin was available, but a few nice things were missing, the rare releases weren't available upfront. But I mean, if you're in a hurry and you know what you want, you can head here and probably find it for a decent price. (946 characters)

I finally cleared out everythng my hometown had to offer so I went to Madtown to check out the Woodman's.

You know that scene in Clerks where Randall goes into the video store and falls to his knees? I damn near did that.

The selection is huge. The prices on the mix a six are reasonable at $7.99 a six. The place is clean and reasonably organized. The employees don't badger you when you are drooling over what your going to spend your money on.

My only complaint is the bomber prices are a little bit high, but I think you get that at any liquor store. Also Hopslam and World Wide were over $15 a six. Chi-Town Binny's had the Slam for $11.99. They woould have got a five on quality if not for the outdated imports I found on the shelf.

The best part? I got a six of Old Chub in cans to take on my week long camping trip. I never thought I would find OB anywhere around me. (885 characters)

The greatest selection in the madison area and it has a giant single bottles section. If you can't find something here I would be suprised. They even have a single bottles imports selection. Very nice and probably the cheapest prices in town too. Everytime I go there it's never a problem if I am in there looking for what I want at any length of time no one bothers you and all they want when your done is to have your ID when you check out very cool place to pick up your brew. It also has a pretty big organic brew section. (526 characters)

On our recent trip to Madison (might be moving here) this was the only place I had to visit. Went here on a Thursday to stoke up for the weekend. I had identified several beers on my must have list, which I can't get in Atlanta: Tyranena Bitter Women and Hop Whore, and of course, New Glarus Belgian Red, and Ale Alysum Hopalicious. Found all of these and more. Besides the great Wisconsin selection there was a great selection of other midwest brewers, as well. I tried going by there Wednesday night, but what kind of liquor store closes at 9:00PM. Albeit they are open on Sundays. The only area they are lacking is in service. I was there about 30 minutes and I didn't see a single employee in the beer section. I did get some good help from the distributor from New Glarus, though. (785 characters)

Living in and around the Madison area for the last 5 or so years, I've started taking this place for granted. Even with the new gigantic liquor section. But make no mistake, this is the place to go for amazing variety in Madison.

They have just an amazing selection here and it's laid out very well. You've got your domestic macros, followed by huge assortment of domestic micro/craft beers. Then a little section devoted to building your own 6-pack, which is directly over the larger singles section. Then at the end, a good selection of Wisconsin craft/micro's. Then you're while your thinking "that was really awesome, time to check out" you walk down the other side, and they have a load of craft imports on that side.

Fantastic store for beer lovers, I always feel a bit like the kid in the candy store. I don't think I've ever made it in and out in under 20 minutes. I just browse and browse, and change my mind, and go back and forth.

But as previous reviewers have stated, they don't have Lake Louie, which is a curious omission, and I have never been asked if I needed help, or even seen an employee over in the beer area. Also, the lines sometimes get crazy long, and they don't call for backup, so if you're getting a big haul, just grab a cart, so you don't have to hold cold beer for 20 minutes.

But these are small issues really, when what I come for is the beer, and they have it like no other place in Madison!

Reasons to go to Woodman's west-side:One of the best places to get a mixed 6-pack in town for a nice price. Nothing too fancy, but you can mix up some session beers to try them out.Huge selection of craft/micros/locals/imports/cheap stuff/returnables, from sixers to cases, you name it.Lots of cold beer, never too crowded, big aisle.

I don't have any knocks on the service, but my guess is if you needed help there might not be anyone available. Only downside is the lack of Lake Louie stuff and the bomber selection could be better sometimes. (548 characters)

Woodman's West is a must visit for good micro brew and import selection. The selection is very good, from mix and match 6ers, 6ers, 12 packs, many multi-packs, to the most obscure BMC you could imagine. The wine and liquor selection is also top notch.

About the beer, the thing that I am most impressed with in this location is the quality. I have NEVER had a beer past it's prime. Something I find rare for any place that carries a very large selection.

Visited this location yesterday, and I have to say, it's the best one i've ever been to. HUGE place. Spent a good while perusing the beer aisles on the far left. Cases divide the center, but on the right side is the import cooler, the left wall is the domestic. Cold cases were along the back wall.

Selection was great for the regional micro stuff. In most cases there were at least 3 varieties from a brewery, up to 10 or so from New Glarus. Some obscure smaller stuff I hadn't heard of, like Ilja's and South Shore. Old Chub 6-packs, but there was an empty spot for Dale's Pale. Good quantity of NG Unplugged, even a couple cases on the floor. Lot of empty spots in the singles section unfortunately, and I was told that you couldn't pull singles from 6-packs. Tyranena, Ale Asylum, Viking, and many other WI micros. Good import variety as well, although I didn't spend as much time there. They did have Rochefort 6,8,10. Checkout was quick, sort of impersonal. Eventually got a box for my beer, which was good. Recommended.

07/2008: Stopped in to find many new and obscure regional micros, including Stone. Got some help finding a case of Dancing Man during the afternoon on a friday. Might be the best Woodman's in WI... (1,227 characters)

Visited this place last night on the recommendation of other area BA's - I was pretty happy with the selection, although not being a Great Lakes area native I didn't recognize as many of the beers as I expected to. Definitely exciting to see so many local breweries and how well they are all represented - as mentioned before there was no Lake Louie, but that probably has more to do with a bad relationship with the distributor than the Brewery (anyone know the story or who the distributor is?). I definitely was impressed to see all the 5l mini-kegs, especially the Einbecker Mai-bock and the Reisdorf Kolsch. The import selection was pretty lame though - there were beers from various importers that are nice to see (St. Bernardus abt12, Einbecker) but many other amazing beers from the same importer were missing (Brasserie des Rocs, Zum Uriege) so maybe they could steal some space from the macros (do you really need three full doors of AB cans) and increase the imports, especially the specialty Germans and Belgians. Overall though compared to the average liquor outlets around Madison, or even the more savvy stores this place has a leg up on selection and value (great lakes sixers were all $5.00 even!?!) - I'll keep shopping around for comparison during future visits to Mad Town, but Woodman's will be my backup for guaranteed selection. (1,351 characters)

Woodmans West in Madison has been rumored to have a better selection of beers than any of the other Woodmans locations in the area. I can tell you that the rumor can now be called a fact.
From the exterior this location looks just as big as the stores in Onalaska or Madison East. There is a slightly different sign featuring a smiley faced sun character at this location.
The direct entrance to the beer/ liquor department is located to the left of the main store entrance. This store in a store is still impressive in its size. Along the left wall the import beers begin with singles and sixes. German, English and Belgian breweries are represented with a good variety of styles.
At most of the Woodmans I have been to the imported beer section ends along the left wall. A nice feature of this store, that sets it apart from the others, is the presence of an addition aisle of quality imported beers.
Along the back wall there are vast quantities of quality beers from across the United States. There is a very good selection of beers brewed regionally and in Wisconsin.
This is probably the place that you have to go to if you are looking for beer in Madison.
The negative in all of this is the complete lack of the Lake Louie line of products. (1,265 characters)

Stopped in hoping to find Lake Louie and Central Waters goods, but I did not. I also felt Class A screwed, but I have to take a little bit of the blame there. I think. Maybe not. Probably not.

Despite that, Woodman's is always good for some beer, and Madison's Woodman's West may be better than the average Woodman's. Two mile-long walls packed with mainline stuff and some twelve-packs and cases of better brews from Wisconsin -- like New Glarus and Capital. Standard-for-Woodman's samplers of Sam Adams and Flying Dog. The third wall -- I believe the north wall, on the same wall as the entrance -- is a cooler full of domestic goodies from all over the place. Multiple offerings from most. Wisconsin is pretty much represented in toto, minus LL and CW as mentioned. Also Lagunitas, Three Floyds, Goose Island, Rogue, Left Hand, Two Brothers, New Holland, Great Lakes, Smuttynose, Abita and more. Facing the domestic cooler is a smaller but very substantial imports cooler with scads of Asian and European beers I did not recognize. There was an impressive collection of Unibroue, maybe seven beers, for sale in packs.

Lots of big-bottle singles for sale over there, but it was the domestic bombers and singles I was excited about. Singles are $8 purchased as six-packs, and I went nuts scooping up one of almost everything I hadn't tried. I filled four packs, probably half the varieties on hand. However, in my joy (greed?) I did not check labels. I've had many good beers from this haul, but last night I had two undated pales that I believe were fading and poured a beer that smelled off. Tonight I was powerfully disappointed by an Otter Creek Pale Ale that was dated as brewed 51 weeks before I bought it and a New Holland Zoomer that was thoroughly, depressingly skunked. It was a real bummer to drive a couple hours back home with a new stash only to find out that I may have to chuck bottles as I pull them out of the cupboard.

Service stays high because when I arrived the line was backed up, but they called in extra checkers and zipped everybody through. (2,077 characters)